BERNIE: Iowa was 'absolutely' a victory, and I'm just getting started

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).CNN/screenshot
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said Tuesday that he "absolutely" considered the Iowa caucuses a victory for his presidential campaign.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly edged out Sanders in delegates from the Democratic caucuses, and she released a statement declaring that she had won without "uncertainty."

According to the Iowa Democratic Party, Clinton got 699.57 delegates from the caucuses to Sanders' 695.49, with 2.28 delegates in a precinct still outstanding.

In a Tuesday-morning interview with CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, Sanders dismissed Clinton's win as a technicality.

"We started our campaign 40, 50 points behind," Sanders said on CNN's "New Day." "Whether we lose by a fraction of a point or we win or whatever, we're very proud of the campaign that we won."

"Do you take this as a victory regardless of what the margin is?" Cuomo asked.

"Absolutely," the senator replied. "Look, what you're talking about is — one or the other — a couple of delegates when we're going to need 2,300 delegates to win this thing. So maybe we lost by two. Maybe we lost by one, maybe by zero. Whatever it may be."

Sanders said his campaign was just getting started. He added that he planned to win next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, where he leads Clinton in some polls.

"What this shows is that this campaign has started in a very forceful way, starting way, way back and coming to a virtual tie," he said. "And we are going to fight here in New Hampshire. Look forward to winning here and doing well around the rest of the country."

Sanders also said: "Tonight was a thrilling night, certainly one of the important political nights in my life, and we feel great."